So I’ve just had a week’s holiday, during which I got a phone call from my dad, who still works part time for the bus company I used to drive for, and he said there was a distinct possibility that, despite being sacked from there less than a year ago, they could be willing to re-employ me again, due to the fact they are woefully short of staff.
Fast forward to Saturday, and I’m in Hull Interchange paying my lottery syndicate, and by sheer coincidence one of the company managers is there, and asks to speak to me. We have a good discussion, and he tells me that recruitment of staff isn’t his recourse any more, but if I put a letter in to the right person before Monday morning, the possibility of a return will be discussed at a meeting all about staffing levels.
And so to this morning. Woke up feeling bloody rubbish, and rings up work to tell them I won’t be in. Mid morning I gets a phone call from bus company manager, asking if I can go see them. Pulls myself together, and goes to see what they have to say (can I just point out, not that I should have to, that there is a marked difference between 9 hours pallet dropping in a 20 ton truck and a 10 minute drive in your car) and, after some deliberation, they offer me a job. I accept their offer, and tell them I’ll ring current boss and discuss notice period etc, so I can give them a start date. Ring current boss, tell him what’s what, he puts 2 and 2 together and gets 500, thinking I’ve done a cloak and dagger job on him, and basically tells me not to bother coming back. Fine by me, I said, and tell bus company I’ll be in on Wednesday morning.
Now, anyone with a basic grasp of geography knows that Hull is stuck out on a limb, and as a result there’s a distinct lack of what would normally be termed as ‘prestigious’ driving jobs, and the few there are are harder to get into than a nun’s knickers. I’ve been in this job 6 months, and through asking around I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to earn a reasonable weekly wage in this town is to be one of the lucky few to have one of the aforementioned jobs, or to spend the full week away from home, living in the cab. I’ve every respect for those drivers that do that, but it just isn’t for me. I could fork out a small fortune for a Class 1 and ADR, but the ADR jobs in this area fall into the prestigious category, and moving from 2 to 1 at my current company gets me a whopping 30p an hour rise, to £6.50ph. The money isn’t an issue at the moment, but would have become so in the fullness of time, and not only am I no longer prepared to fork out for extra training, but since the discussion with the boss this morning, I’ve had another perception changed irrevocably, and now realise I’m definitely doing the right thing.
I can see why so many of you on here spend a lot of time bleating about various gripes, you put yourselves out there day after day, put up with all manner of crap, and for the main, for very little reward. I’ve enjoyed being part of your world for these 6 months, but in the words of a Scottish entrepreneur, amoot.
So long, and thanks for all the fish 
